Hoosier Burgers Building A Better System

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

The most significant reason for using the systems analysis and design methodologies approach when building a system is to make sure it is created in a way that it focuses on the company in which it is being designed for. "For example, many organizations both large and small use various application software programs, also called systems which are designed to support a specific organizational function or process, such as inventory management, payroll, or market analysis (Valacich, George, Hoffer 2009)". The reason for not building a system in whatever way seems to be "quick and easy" is that it often causes the system to be sloppy and not work properly which basically cause more issues than solutions. However, organizations that use an "engineering" approach find that it is most useful when creating a system for a dangerous workplace, such as those found within the oil and gas industry. Having been working within this industry for over 25 years, I have found that using computer-aided software engineering (CASE) provides an easier approach to methodologies, techniques, and tools all working together to systematically form an organizational approach to analysis and design of the entire business structure.

Selecting Software

Let’s face it when deciding whether to design in house software or purchase off-the shelf software the deciding factor will often be based on which one will significantly affect cost. For example, with off-the-shelf software, vendors have already done all of the work thus significant reducing the cost of developing in house software. Although cost is a major criteria for choosing off-the-shelf software as opposed to designing in house software there are other criterion that should be considered such as vendor background and stability of specialized software. Basically,   a vendor’s ability to focus on an organizations core competency can mean the difference between purchasing software that applies non-application details, and a project that successfully adds value to the organization. After all, the more standardized an organization is in purchasing off-the-shelf software, the more cost effective it will be during the implementation process as well as future maintenance issues.  

Managing Projects

Although I have never had the opportunity to use FastTrack Schedule 9, after reviewing taking tour the provided for this week’s discussion I can see where program would be very beneficial for most projects. First, considering that the success of a project is largely dependent on resource availability such as personnel, equipment, and materials. This brings me to a feature FastTrack Schedule 9 offers project managers such as the ability to accurately assign and manage resources, thus maximizing all resources with graphs that clearly specify distribution levels based on the amount of resource’s used verses the amount of time allocated for each assigned activity. Then there is the ability to consolidate multiple projects while staying focused on the big picture which allows for easier control over project schedules and planning with an automated scheduling feature that aids in a more efficient ability to streamline schedule building, thus freeing up the project team to maintain their focus on completion of the assigned project.

Cost Benefit Analysis

Considering that assessing economic feasibility relates to recognizing financial benefits associated with the overall cost of project development. "I would have to respond with a technique known as net present value which uses a discount rate to gain the present value of a project’s overall benefits and costs (Valacich , George , & Hoffer, 2009)". For instance, with the use of a net present value technique (NPV), investors can estimate the potential profitability of a project as well as determine how much their investment is expected to increase based on the present value of its potential cash flows and initial cost.

Business Processes

When conducting a business process re-engineering study, what should you look for when trying to identify business processes for change? Over the past two weeks we have been reading about the struggles of Hoosier Burgers and their desire to come up with a system which will allow them to overcome various shortcomings, For example, one such issue as being able to maintaining a sufficient inventory system, which is particularly important for providing customer satisfaction and building a data base that focuses on specific items that generate a return clientele based on product availability and delivery. "This reinforces the fact that key business processes are a structured set of measurable activities designed to produce a specific output for a particular customer or market (Valacich , George , & Hoffer, 2009)". One such way in measuring inventory status would be to incorporate a system known as disruptive technologies to monitor inventory levels and aid in the business process for determining which products/processes are preferred by customers and which products/processes are not. For example, just the other day there was some discussion about McDonald’s future growth and the decision of revamping their dollar menu as a way to maintain its competitive advantage on the stock market.   

Disruptive Technologies

In today’s ever change marketplace where plans are continuously revised, businesses/organizations are taking a more radical approach to changing their business processes. For example, with disruptive technologies such as high-performance computing using cloud computing, social networking or mobile technologies that provides real-time updating. Businesses have the ability to radically change their business processes, breaking the rules so to speak, of traditional business processes. Basically, with so many various forms of computing technologies available to businesses/organizations on the horizon, timing can make the difference between moving ahead of the competition or falling behind.

Diagramming Tools

Diagramming tools generally use visual aids that show processes being broke down into series of events or steps. For example, the use of a Data Flow Diagram (DFD) is a graphic representation of a system which consists of data flows, processes, sources, destinations and stores. Unlike Flowcharts, a Data Flow Diagram does not show the strict order of execution steps but it shows how processes depend upon one another for information. Considering that there are many forms of diagramming tools, in order for a system analyst to successfully analyze a process, they must fully understand the information they gain from utilizing each diagramming tool and it may be essential to multiple diagrams.  It is also important to remember that the use of diagrams is a form of documentation which aids in the communication process between various groups and must be understood by all parties involved in the process. Without such tools, analysts could model diagrams based on the results of similar processes conducted by other analysts, basically asking for an expert opinion to achieve similar result.

Systems Development Approaches

Having been involved in just about every aspect of the oil industry and currently involved in deep water drilling, I couldn’t help but choose the engineering system development approach. The engineering approach to systems development has been used within the oil industry for projects ranging from drilling to completions. Although this methodology is often developed in-house by a group of drilling professionals it is generally based on information gathered from a system known as geological surveys and determines a variety of activities to be performed and specifies tools, techniques, deliverables, and people for each. Therefore, considering that each geographical location is different in regards to drilling into high pressure formations, each project/operation has its own team which makes decisions regarding the appropriate life-cycle, and which tasks, tools, techniques, and deliverables to use and any deviations will require some type of approval due to the complexity of drill in water depths.